Turnabout Lakefront
by MattsyKun
Summary: When a murder happens on the lakefront in Los Angeles and all of the evidence points towards Police Chief Vyncynte Jaymz, it's up to High Prosecutor Emily Skydive and Detective Justin Marshall to find the truth to a puzzling murder. Short Story for class.


**Turnabout Lakefront**

**Okay, this is just a "short" story I had to write for creative writing. And yes, Lana in this story is based off of Lana Skye. I only own Emily and Justin. Two other people in my class own Vyncynte Jaymz and Crimson Snowkiss. The idea is mine. Comprende? Okay.**

_The rain poured down, causing ripples to form along the lake, but it did not matter to the young woman in the lake._

_She sank, unable to comprehend what had happened. She had been investigating along the water's edge, where the murder had taken place, when a man had shoved her into the water. She had flailed about, attempting to stay on the surface, when she fatigued and finally slipped under._

_Her eyes slowly opened to the aquatic life in the lake. A few fish swam past her, oblivious to the young woman's plight. She felt something pull her leg, and she looked to see her leg wrapped in seaweed._

_Perfect. Just great._

_As she reached to untangle her leg, she spotted something concealed in the kelp. Curious, the prosecutor pushed the seaweed away._

_What she saw almost made her heart stop._

_A young boy, no older than 16, was buried underneath the sizeable amount of seaweed. His eyes were closed and he looked lifeless. _

_She gasped, inhaling water. She struggled to free herself from the kelp that trapped her as water began to fill her lungs. She saw black in the corners of her eyes as she slowly lost consciousness…_

**April 16, 2016**

**Emily Skydive's House**

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!"

Emily Skydive awoke in a sweat, screaming. Every night for the past two months, she had been having this same nightmare. It was not even a nightmare; it was more like a flashback to that day two months ago. Her heart pounded in her chest and she felt dizzy as if she had actually been underwater. She put a hand to her head as she tried to calm down.

Emily was a 24-year-old prosecutor who was quite famous despite her age. She had become a prosecutor at the age of 20, quickly rising up and attaining the rank of "High Prosecutor". Her life seemed like a wonderful dream gone horribly wrong after her parents died. She thought that becoming a prosecutor would help her avenge her parents, but soon gave up on the idea. She was an odd prosecutor who would not go within 50 feet of a dead body, and hated water.

That day, two months ago, had forced her to confront those fears.

Drowning, struggling for air, heart racing.

Emily felt the same way every morning. Ever since that incident, she had woken up from that nightmare, screaming and gasping for air. Every morning, she had to convince herself that it was all in the past, that it would not happen again.

Emily's dog, a black Labrador retriever puppy named Dark, snuggled close to his master, attempting to placate her in some fashion. Emily hugged the puppy to her with a sigh.

"Oh, Dark…"

Dark licked her face in reassurance, and Emily smiled. Every morning, Dark would lick her face and comfort her, telling her it would be all right. Emily kissed Dark's head and got out of bed to get ready for work.

As Emily stood in the shower, she sighed and shook her head. Why was this nightmare plaguing her as it was? What did it mean? She sighed again, unable to find the answers to her questions. As she turned off the water, she heard Dark's barking, and knew her phone was ringing. She wrapped herself in a large towel and rushed into the bedroom to her phone.

"Hello, Chief Prosecutor Benedetti."

"Good morning, Emily. I'm sorry I called you so early. Did I wake you?"

"Nah, I was just in the shower. Jeez, Lana, you have the worst timing!" Emily chuckled. She swore she could have heard Lana's face turn red on the other end.

Lana Benedetti was the Chief Prosecutor in the East Los Angeles district, and also Emily's _nakama_, or friend. Lana was 37 years old, but seemed older. They were close friends, always looking out for one another.

"Are you okay? You sound… shaken." Lana asked worriedly.

"I'm fine, Lana. It's just…" Emily trailed off.

"That dream again?"

Emily nodded, but then remembered she was on the phone. "Yeah…"

"…I need you to come down to the DA's office, pronto. I have a new case for you."

"All right, Lana, I'll be down there in an hour. How's that?"

"That's cool."

Emily hung up the phone, placing it back on her nightstand. Dark gave her a questioning whine, asking if she was all right. Emily stroked the puppy's head and went back into the bathroom to get dressed.

**April 16, 2016**

**District Attorney's Office**

"Prosecutor Skydive! Good morning!"

"Good morning."

"Good morning, Ms. Skydive."

"Ah, good morning, Elliot."

Emily strode through the halls of the District Attorney's office, Dark plodding along by her side. She was well known and well respected at the office. The prosecutor pressed the up button on the elevator, catching Dark as he leapt into her arms. The doors opened, and she smiled at the man standing inside.

"Hello, Detective Marshall."

"Hello, Ms. Skydive." The detective said, standing aside to allow Emily to step into the elevator. Dark barked at Detective Marshall as the elevator doors closed.

"So, Emily, good morning!" he said, throwing his arm around Emily. Emily smiled at her closest friend.

"Good morning, Justin." Emily said, giving the detective a kiss on his cheek. Justin blushed lightly as the elevator rose to the twelfth floor.

"Hm? What's up? You seem a little more shaken than usual. You had that nightmare again?" Justin asked. Emily shrugged Justin's arm off.

"Yes… I can't understand why it won't stop… Well, no point in worrying about it. The Chief has a case for us."

Justin Marshall was a detective with amazing skills. He was the best detective in the district; if the current Chief of Police retired, he would be next in line for the position. However, he was just as content with helping Emily any way he could.

"12th Floor: High Prosecutor's Office, Chief Prosecutor's Office." The elevator announced. The duo and dog stepped out of the elevator to face two huge sets of doors at the beginning of the hallway. One was Emily's office; the other was Chief Prosecutor Benedetti's office.

"Chief? You in there?" Emily called out. The door opened, and Lana smiled weakly at Emily.

"Come in. Ah, Detective Marshall, I'm glad you're here as well."

The prosecutor and the detective sat down in the two chairs in front of Lana's desk. Lana sat down and handed Emily a manila folder.

"I'm not sure you're ready to handle this particular case yet, but… you're the only one qualified enough to take it." Lana sighed, running a hand through her brown hair as Emily opened the file and pulled out the picture of the victim.

"…! I-It's…"

Images flashed through Emily's head, and her hands trembled with anxiety and fear. The photo almost fell from her hands, but Justin caught it.

"I'm sorry, but you're the only one we have that can take this case." Lana said, "Everything the two of you need is in there."

The younger prosecutor lowered her head. "I understand. C'mon, Detective." Emily said, pushing herself up from the chair and leaving. Justin bowed respectfully to the Chief Prosecutor before following Emily out.

"So, what's the info?" Justin asked. Emily opened the folder, the picture of the victim hidden away.

"Well, most of the investigation was done for us, which means less work. The victim was 16-year-old Crimson Snowkiss. Not anything special; he was a nerdy kid. Everyone liked him. He wanted to become a dentist. Father died when he was nine of an unknown disease."

Justin nodded, "Okay, a little less about the victim, a little more about how he died."

Emily chuckled, "Just can't wait to get to the details, can you?" she asked, "Well, a witness says she saw the suspect shoot him, and he fell into the lake. Actually…here's the transcript." She said, pulling out the 12-page transcript and handing it to the detective.

"Hmmm... let's see… 'I saw the victim walking along the edge of the lake when he bumped into a black man. He was an older man, with a tough build. He was dressed quite nicely; you could tell he had money to burn. Well, he tried to apologize and go around, but the man seemed to want to pick a fight, you know? Well, it turned into a struggle, and then the black guy pulled out a gun and shot the boy! Poor child fell into the water and sank. Then the black man put his gun away and left.'"

"Hey, what's the description of the suspect? A name, at least." Emily said, pulling out the keys to her car and unlocking the doors.

"…Uh, it says the suspect is Vyncynte Jaymz."

Emily almost dropped Dark, who let out an indignant growl and leapt into the car. "Y-you mean Police Chief Jaymz?"

Justin nodded, "The one and the same. The evidence the boys down at the Police Department collected all points to him."

Emily started the car. "Oh, dear god, that makes our lives a little easier. Okay, where did the murder take place?"

Justin leafed through the papers, trying to find the case summary. "It took place… at Castaic Lake. Well known for paddle boats."

Images flashed through Emily's head again, and she shook her head. "Ugh…" she grumbled, putting a hand to her head. Why now of all times?

"… You want me to drive?" Justin asked putting a caring hand on her shoulder. Emily nodded, and the duo switched places.

As they drove down to Castaic Lake, Emily closed her eyes, her arms wrapped around Dark. Two months ago, another murder had taken place near Castaic Lake. Two months ago, she almost drowned in the same lake. Two months ago, she had seen that boy, encased in the seaweed.

Two months ago, rumors had started about Police Chief Vyncynte Jaymz

They were whispered rumors that traveled from the Police Department to the District Attorney's office and back. Rumors that the Chief of Police had sided with the mafia, making back-alley deals and conspiring with the mafia. A few people had started dying, people who were higher up than Vyncynte was. The individuals of the Police Department quietly thought that Vyncynte was eliminating the people who were in his way.

So why would a 16-year-old boy turn up dead, and why would Vyncynte Jaymz be the suspect?

Emily and Vyncynte were not on good speaking terms. Emily had bumped into Vyncynte once at the police department during the annual Evidence Transferal. She had been 21, then, a prosecutor fresh from the bar. Lana had given her a vase to take to the Police Department, and Emily had complied. That day, she had run into him and dropped the vase, shattering it. Vyncynte glared at her, not bothering to help her clean up the pieces of the broken vase.

"_Foolish little girl. What are ya doin' 'round here, anyway? Shouldn't ya be at school?"_

"_I-I'm putting this vase away. Evidence Transferal."_

"_Humph. A lil' girl like ya shouldn't be hangin' 'round th' Police Department n'ways. Ya a prosecutor r'somethin'?"_

"_Y-yes, sir."_

"_Well, listen up. I'm the Chief o' Police, Vyncynte Jaymz. Cross mah path 'gain, see what happens."_

Emily had quickly found out that the Chief of Police was not a kind man. She had left quickly before a fight broke out. Ever since then she had her suspicions about him.

Now they were verified.

"We're here, Emily."

Emily and Justin stepped out of the car onto the lakefront. Castaic Lake was a beautiful family attraction in the past, but ever since Crimson Snowkiss's body had been found, it received less traffic.

"Dark, here boy!" Emily called out. Dark leapt out of the car and into Emily's arms with a bark. The trio turned their attention to the lake, where a trio of men in black suits was conversing.

"Okay, the scene of the murder happened over there, right where those men are standing." Justin said. He strode up to the group of men, Emily in tow.

"Excuse me, but could you please move?" Justin asked politely, showing his police badge. One man, a bald, heavyset man, leered down at the smaller detective.

"An' what if we don't?"

"This is the scene of a murder. If you do not move, I'm going to have to use force." Justin said. The other two men laughed.

"That's funny. Hilarious. You should be a comedian, not a detective. Let me guess; you're looking for evidence against Vyncynte Jaymz, correct?" another man, a black haired man who reminded Emily of an emo man she had seen once, growled.

"H-how did you know?" Emily asked. The third man, a man with huge muscles and a large mustache, grinned, holding up a bag with a bullet and a gun in it.

"Well, we were told to 'clean up' around here."

"By Police Chief Jaymz, no doubt. Kindly give that to us." Justin growled. The bald man snickered.

"Hm, let me think about that… no. Oh, are you the prosecutor? Emily Skydive?"

Emily took a few steps back. In her arms, Dark bared his teeth and snarled.

"Who wants to know?"

The first man reached into his suit. "Unfortunately, you won't be making an appearance in court tomorrow." He sneered, pulling out a gun.

"EMILY, DUCK!"

Everything seemed to occur in slow motion. Emily let go of Dark, who sped towards the third man, fur flying and teeth showing. Justin shoved Emily out of the way just as two bullets stuck him: one in the thigh and the other near his heart.

"Agh! Stupid mutt!" the third man shouted. Dark had attached himself to the hand holding the precious evidence they needed. The man dropped the gun, and Dark snatched it up and dove into the lake, swimming away.

"Larry, give it up! Let's go; we probably attracted some attention!" the bald man shouted. The three men ran to a car sitting on the curb, leaping in and driving off. Emily ran to Justin, who was now lying on the ground.

"Aagghh…"

"Oh, Justin… don't worry, I'll call for help… Dark! Dark, where are you?" Emily shouted worriedly. There was a splash, and a wet Dark pulled himself out of the lake, holding the evidence in his teeth.

"Oh, good boy… are you all right?" Emily whispered, kissing Dark's wet head. She pulled out her cell phone and dialed 911, holding Justin in her lap.

"E-Emily… are you okay? You a-aren't… hurt, are you?" Justin gasped. Emily shook her head.

"No, I'm fine, but you aren't! You need help! Hello, operator? I need an ambulance, and fast…!"

**April 17, 2016**

**District Court**

**Courtroom No. 6**

Emily nervously stepped into the courtroom. Her detective had been taken to the hospital, and would not be able to testify in court that day. She did not know if it would be an advantage for the defense, but all she cared about was putting the Chief of Police behind bars for what he did.

For what he did to Crimson Snowkiss, what he did to Justin, and what he did to her.

Dark could feel his master's tension, and whined a little bit to help ease the anxiety filling the prosecutor. Normally Justin was by her side, but this time she would be flying solo.

Across the courtroom, Vyncynte Jaymz and his defense attorney, Ryan Naruhodou, were conversing. About what she did not know, but she knew Mr. Naruhodou would try his hardest to prove Vyncynte's innocence. She knew the spontaneous defense attorney quite well, and knew how he did his work in court. He always seemed to be grasping, and somehow he managed to pull off a "not guilty" verdict.

But not this time.

As she took her place, she noticed Vyncynte looked a little… strange. It was nothing she could explain with words. Maybe it was just a feeling she had deep down; maybe it was womanly intuition. Nevertheless, something definitely seemed wrong.

The gallery quieted down, and Emily shuffled her papers around, putting the autopsy report on top. She knew that Naruhodou had a copy of it, but Emily's detective wasn't there to present it to the court.

"Court is now in session for the trial of Mr. Vyncynte Jaymz." The judge announced.

"The defense is ready, Your Honor." Naruhodou said.

"The prosecution is as ready as she's gonna be, Your Honor." Emily shrugged. Quite truthfully, she was not feeling very confident. Dark, who was sitting on a stool next to his master, let out a soft bark to reassure the prosecutor.

"Very well, your opening statement, Ms. Skydive."

Emily felt her blood run cold. Opening statement? She shuffled through her papers, but was unable to find the paper she was looking for. The prosecutor cursed herself for not being prepared. She had stayed up until four in the morning attempting to prepare herself, but she forgot the opening statement! Emily bit her lip. She would just have to fake it.

"Um…"

When she thought about it, she almost never wrote her own opening statements. She was a little weak in that department; most of the time Justin helped her come up with exceptional statements that grabbed the judge's attention. _"Shoot,"_ She thought to herself, _"Come on, and improvise!"_

"As you very well know, um, the victim, Crimson Snowkiss, was found dead at the bottom of a lake; a lake that families used to, uh, go to for picnics and such. But tell me, why would anyone want to kill a 16-year-old boy that only wanted to see the good in anybody? Evidence, uh, and witnesses all point to one man: Vyncynte Jaymz. It's all… uh… decisive evidence." Emily said, sweating. The judge was quiet for a moment.

"Excellent opening statement as always, Ms. Skydive. You may call your first witness." The judge said.

"_Oh, hells yeah! I did it!" _Emily thought, mentally cheering. She quickly regained her professional composure and straightened.

"I call Sarah Elpour to the stand."

Sarah Elpour was not an extraordinary woman. She was an average height, average weight, brown hair, hazel eyes, and sunglasses. She wore a scarf around her neck, shorts, and a t-shirt. And nothing matched; definitely an odd woman.

"Ms. Elpour, please state your occupation to the court." Emily said.

"I'm an ambulance driver for Domo Hospital. In fact, I'm losing hours because of this." Sarah said sadly, "I have five cats, three dogs, seventeen fish, four hamsters, seven birds, and a weasel named Itachi."

Emily blinked. "O…kay. Wow. anyways, you can continue with your testimony."

"Just before noon, I took a walk along the lake, because I wasn't on my shift. It starts around four in the afternoon. So anyways, I was walking along, minding my own business, when I see this young boy with red hair and kinda geeky glasses walking along the lake. There's this black guy looking into the lake. So the boy isn't paying attention. I think he was listening to his iPod or something. So, he runs into the black guy! And the black guy's all like, 'WTF!' The boy tries to go around him, but he grabs his arm and drags him back around. I wasn't close enough to hear what they were saying, but then the black guy pulls out a gun and shoots the boy! POW! Then he pushes the boy into the lake, puts the gun away, and walks back to his car."

Emily nodded. "The 'black guy' you're referring to is the defendant, correct?"

"Yes."

"And you saw him commit the murder?"

"I know what I saw!" Sarah exclaimed, "It was the man sitting right over there!"

"Okay, Mr. Naruhodou, you may cross-examine the witness." The judge said.

Emily knew what statements Naruhodou would and would not press. She had prepared for that, with a box of evidence beside her. In this case, nothing would catch her off guard.

"Hold it!" Naruhodou shouted, "If the victim had his iPod with him, then why wasn't it found on his body?"

"Uh… oh, yeah! The murderer ripped off the headphones and threw it into the lake! It went pretty far out there," Sarah said.

"It's true," Emily said, pulling out the iPod, which had suffered water damage, but surprisingly it still functioned. The only sign water damage had occurred to it was a black line of dead pixels running across the screen. "The police who searched the lake found this about 400 meters from where the body was."

"The court accepts this into evidence." The judge said.

Emily could see the thoughtful look on Naruhodou's face. Inwardly she smirked; there was no way that he could find any sort of contradiction.

"Hey, Mr. Naruhodou, remember that the moment you can't find any contradictions, you lose." Emily said in a slightly teasing manner. Naruhodou smirked at her, and Emily blinked. What was with that look?

"How can you prove that the bullet found in the victim was the one shot from that gun? If you can't prove that, it's over!" Naruhodou said. He thought he had gained a few more moments to pull something together.

However, he was highly mistaken.

Emily chuckled. "You're so naïve, Mr. Naruhodou. The answer is simple. Ballistic markings, of course."

Naruhodou raised an eyebrow. "Ballistic markings?"

"Do I have to explain everything to you?" Emily sighed, "Ballistic markings to a bullet are kind of like fingerprints to a person. When a gun is fired, it leaves a certain kind of marking on the bullet. By looking at these markings, you can tell which gun fired the bullet. And we did the test. The defendant's fingerprints are on the gun. The ballistic markings on the bullet match the gun. There is no other explanation than the defendant, Vyncynte Jaymz, killed the victim!" Emily said, pointing dramatically at Vyncynte.

Naruhodou looked like the apocalypse had come.

"So, Mr. Jaymz, what do you have to say to that?"

Vyncynte did not say anything for a moment. Then he began to clap slowly.

"Brilliant, Ms. Skydive. Ya pretty smart. Ya think ah killed him?" he asked. Emily nodded.

"All the evidence points to you, Chief. There's no way around it."

Vyncynte smirked. "Ya won. Ah did it. But… that don't mean ya gonna get me alive!"

Emily was shocked as Vyncynte jumped up, ran to the bailiff, and punched him, knocking him out with one hit. He then picked up the bailiff's gun, pointing it at a few people in the gallery.

"Try an' follow me, see whut happens."

He then pulled open the door, pulling it clean off its hinges, and ran out of the courtroom.

"…" Emily said, still in a state of shock. The shock then wore off and she ran after him, pulling out her cell phone. As she began to dial the Chief Prosecutor's number, she crashed into somebody, landing on the floor.

"Oof! Sorry… WHAAAAAAA?!"

Justin smiled back at her. "Nice to see you, Emily. I believe we have a criminal to catch?"

Emily pushed herself up. "What are you and Chief Prosecutor Benedetti doing here?"

"I drove Justin here so he could testify. The hospital released him." Lana explained. Justin laughed at Emily's now angry/discombobulated face, slapping the prosecutor on the back.

"That bullet-proof vest saved my life! Also, the bullet actually only scraped my leg; it wasn't a major wound. Now, let's get going!"

The trio dashed through the courthouse. It was easy to figure out what path Vyncynte had taken. There was blood and injured people everywhere. A few police officers were on the scene, confused as to what was going on. Justin shouted at them to take care of the injured.

"He's getting away in his FERRARI?! Duuude that's so not cool." Emily growled. As Vyncynte began to pull away, she and Justin leapt into Emily's Dodge truck.

"Ya'll never catch me!" Vyncynte shouted, flooring the gas and zooming away. Emily started the car as Justin pulled out his cell phone.

"Yes! I want you to put a spike strip down on Interstate 45 North and Southbound! No, not spike PIT, spike STRIP! We have a very dangerous murderer heading that way in a red Ferrari. I want all available units to block the interstate. Do not let him escape, got it?"

Emily zoomed after Vyncynte; after all, a red Ferrari is not hard to spot. The sun was setting, and it almost seemed like a scene out of a movie. Vyncynte was speeding down the interstate, thinking that he was going to escape. The Chief of Police was going to get away with this murder, and he would call the mafia to take care of any loose ends.

He thought he was going to win, until he hit the spike strip.

Vyncynte cursed loudly as his tires deflated. The car skidded to a stop in the middle of the highway.

"No… ah won't be caught! Ah can't! Ah ain't goin' to jail, dammit! Mah money, mah job… ah can't lose all of that!"

Vyncynte ripped open the door, stumbling blindly down the interstate. In the distance, he could see police cars speeding towards him.

"Ah dun wanna die! Ah dun wanna go to hell! No!" Vyncynte shouted.

"NOOOOOOOOOO—"

Vyncynte, who was not paying attention to where he was going, tripped over a rock.

Emily, who did not anticipate Vyncynte even getting out of the car, sped towards the falling Vyncynte.

Vyncynte saw the Dodge logo speeding towards him, and screamed in horror.

_**THUD.**_

Emily slammed on the brake, freaking out. She had just run over Vyncynte Jaymz, Chief of Police. The car screeched to a halt, and she looked back. Vyncynte was lying on the ground, a pool of blood surrounding him.

"Oh, my god… oh my god… W-what have I done…?!"

The police backup arrived. A few police officers stepped out of their cars and paused. They weren't sure how to handle the situation.

Emily shakily got out of the car, Justin next to her, and she walked over to Vyncynte. She kneeled down.

"You foolish fool… You wouldn't have made it." Emily said softly. Vyncynte coughed up blood.

"Ah… Ah didn't mean t'kill th'boy… Ya gotta believe me…"

"I don't believe you. I know you dying won't bring him back, but karma finally caught up to you, Jaymz."

"But… whut about… my… job… money…"

As Vyncynte took his dying breath, Justin shook his head.

"Idiot… he has a wife and kids at home, and all he ever thought about was his money. Selfish." He muttered, helping Emily up.

"Oi! Get to work! Start cleaning up this mess!" Justin barked. The police officers scrambled to their positions. Justin sighed, putting his chin on Emily's head.

"Are you okay, Emily?"

Emily smiled. "I think I will be, Justin. I think I will be."

**May 13, 2016**

**District Attorney's Office**

**High Prosecutor's Office**

Emily brushed her hair out of her face as a man walked into her office. She smiled at him as he gave her a kiss.

"Hello, Police Chief Marshall. What brings you here?"

Justin, who had been promoted to the new Chief of Police a week after the Vyncynte Jaymz incident, smiled.

"Just came to say hi to the new Chief Prosecutor!"

It took her a moment, but once she had processed what Justin had said, Emily spewed Thai tea everywhere. She coughed a few times before giving Justin an astounded look.

"WHAT?! B-but Lana…!"

"She's leaving on a long vacation, so she's giving the title to you. I dunno, do you want to move all of your stuff into that office?" Justin asked. Emily looked at the wall separating her office from Lana's office.

"Well, we could just do a renovation…"

Justin picked Emily up, who squeaked with surprise. "Justin, put me down! Idiot!"

"No," Justin smirked, "I won't. Let's go get dinner, to celebrate your promotion! Then we can go for a walk down by the lake!"

Emily looked into Justin's eyes. Nothing could be better than this. She had just achieved the rank of her dreams, the man she loved was her closest partner, and her two biggest fears had been overcome. Dark barked at Emily and Justin, leaping onto Justin's head.

"Ahh! Dark, get off!"

Emily chuckled, looking out the window at the beautiful sunset.

_Life is too short to waste it. I want to live the rest of my life just like this. It may take a lot to keep it this way, but it is so worth it._

**Tell me how mah story is, cuz mah teacher is probably gonna give me a bad grade on it... Picky... (glare)**


End file.
